A stent is a medical device introduced into a body lumen and is well known in the art. A stent may be delivered in an unexpanded state to a desired location in a bodily lumen and then expanded by an internal radial force. Stents, grafts, stent-grafts, vena cava filters, expandable frameworks, and similar implantable medical devices, collectively referred to hereinafter as stents, have included radially expandable endoprostheses, which have been used as intravascular implants capable of being implanted transluminally.
Esophageal stents have been used to treat patients suffering from a range of malignant and non-malignant diseases. Most commonly, esophageal stents have been associated with the treatment of esophageal cancers. Esophageal stents have also been used to reduce symptoms resulting from non-esophageal tumors that grow to obstruct the esophagus and to treat benign esophageal disorders, including but not limited to refractory strictures, fistulas and perforations. In each of these cases, esophageal stents may provide mechanical support to the esophageal wall and may maintain luminal patency.
Metallic stents have been used in applications including cancerous strictures and treatment of refractory benign, esophageal, biliary, colonic, and duodenal strictures, and “bridge to recovery” or “bridge to surgery” applications for a suitable time period. Polymeric stents have also been used to treat these indications and have had an added advantage of allowing stent removability. In at least some stent applications, polymeric stents have offered one or more advantages over metallic stents, the advantages including reduced tissue reaction, reduced or eliminated radiation scatter, and/or improved removability.
Some stents have included one or more longitudinal members (e.g., wires, filaments, etc.) that are braided in a pattern. Various braided stents are disclosed by, for example, Wallsten (U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,771), Greenhalgh (U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,239), Tieu et al. (U.S. Pat. PGPUB 2012/0259404), Pulnev et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 8,052,739), and Nishigishi (U.S. Pat. PGPUB 2012/0265294).
In order to, for example, reduce tissue ingrowth, stents have been covered with a coating (e.g., made of a polymer, etc.) to create a physical barrier between the lumen of the stent and the wall of a body lumen (e.g., esophagus, etc.).
Stents having closed loop ends have been employed to provide, for example, atraumatic stent ends for improved patient comfort and reduced recovery time. Closed loop stent ends have also aided removability of a stent by allowing the addition of a suture (e.g., by weaving the suture through one or more closed loop ends, etc.) to the stent which can be used by an operator (e.g., a physician, etc.) to remove the stent if desired.
Lasers (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) have been used in a variety of applications to deliver concentrated light energy to a work piece, wherein the light energy may be absorbed and converted to thermal energy in order to, for example, heat the work piece. Ultrasonic energy has been used in a variety of applications to deliver sound energy (e.g., concentrated and/or focused sound energy) to a work piece, wherein the sound energy may be absorbed and converted to thermal energy in order to, for example, heat the work piece.
Improved stents with, for example, improved ability to secure loose ends and/or improved retrievability are desired. Methods of manufacturing stents having improved ability to secure loose ends are desired.
Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments is provided below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments and/or additional embodiments can be found in the detailed description.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference, each in its entirety.